A New Resource For Medical Information

By Dr.Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The American College of Physicians is a group of over 130,000 internists and they are doing something interesting. They are going to work with Consumer Reports to provide medical information regarding important medical topics that affect many of us.

An example is their report on the use of MRIs and CT scans for people with back pain.

Low back pain is one of the most common reasons for a patient to see a physician and many patients with low back pain receive routine imaging. However, in its evidenced-based clinical practice guideline, ACP found strong evidence that routine imaging for low back pain with x-ray or advanced imaging methods such as CT scans or MRIs does not improve the health of patients.

It is an interesting combination of medical information combined with consumer financial and cultural issues.